System and method of creating layered resources

ABSTRACT

A method of creating a new layer for an information handling system is disclosed. A layering client mounts a new layer at a layer storage medium accessible to the information handling system. A layering file system filter driver redirects a request to create a new file at a target file path to the layer storage medium and updates the file metadata to associate the target file path with the path to file created on the layer storage medium.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to information handling systems and,more particularly, to providing layered resources to an informationhandling system.

BACKGROUND

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option available to users is information handling systems. Aninformation handling system generally processes, compiles, stores,and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or otherpurposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of theinformation. Because technology and information handling needs andrequirements vary between different users or applications, informationhandling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled,how the information is handled, how much information is processed,stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the informationmay be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in informationhandling systems allow for information handling systems to be general orconfigured for a specific user or specific use such as financialtransaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage,or global communications. In addition, information handling systems mayinclude a variety of hardware and software components that may beconfigured to process, store, and communicate information and mayinclude one or more information handling systems, data storage systems,and networking systems.

SUMMARY Brief Description of the Drawings

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and itsfeatures and advantages, reference is now made to the followingdescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of selected elements of an informationhandling system.

FIG. 2 is an example of a network environment.

FIG. 3 is an example of a layer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below is intended as a description ofvarious configurations of the subject technology and is not intended torepresent the only configurations in which the subject technology may bepracticed. The appended drawings are incorporated herein and constitutea part of the detailed description. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof the subject technology. However, it will be apparent to those skilledin the art that the subject technology may be practiced without thesespecific details. In some instances, well-known structures andcomponents are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuringthe concepts of the subject technology.

In the following description, details are set forth by way of example tofacilitate discussion of the disclosed subject matter. It should beapparent to a person of ordinary skill in the field, however, that thedisclosed embodiments are exemplary and not exhaustive of all possibleembodiments.

For the purposes of this disclosure, an information handling system mayinclude an instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable tocompute, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate,switch, store, display, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, orutilize various forms of information, intelligence, or data forbusiness, scientific, control, entertainment, or other purposes. Forexample, an information handling system may be a personal computer, aPDA, a consumer electronic device, a network storage device, or anothersuitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality,and price. The information handling system may include memory, one ormore processing resources such as a central processing unit (CPU) orhardware or software control logic. Additional components or theinformation handling system may include one or more storage devices, oneor more communications ports for communicating with external devices aswell as various input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, amouse, and a video display. The information handling system may alsoinclude one or more buses operable to transmit communication between thevarious hardware components.

Herein, a computer-readable non-transitory storage medium or media mayinclude one or more semiconductor-based or other integrated circuits(ICs) (such, as for example, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) orapplication-specific ICs (ASICs)), hard disk drives (HDDs), hybrid harddrives (HHDs), optical discs, optical disc drives (ODDs),magneto-optical discs, magneto-optical drives, floppy diskettes, floppydisk drives (FDDs), magnetic tapes, solid-state drives (SSDs),RAM-drives, SECURE DIGITAL cards or drives, any other suitablecomputer-readable non-transitory storage media, or any suitablecombination of two or more of these, where appropriate. Acomputer-readable non-transitory storage medium may be volatile,non-volatile, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile, whereappropriate.

Particular embodiments are best understood by reference to FIGS. 1-2,wherein like numbers are used to indicate like and corresponding parts.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example information handling system 100. Inparticular embodiments, one or more information handling systems 100perform one or more steps of one or more methods described orillustrated herein. In particular embodiments, one or more informationhandling systems 100 provide functionality described or illustratedherein. In particular embodiments, software running on one or moreinformation handling systems 100 performs one or more steps of one ormore methods described or illustrated herein or provides functionalitydescribed or illustrated herein. Particular embodiments include one ormore portions of one or more information handling systems 100. Herein,reference to an information handling system may encompass a computingdevice, and vice versa, where appropriate. Moreover, reference to aninformation handling system may encompass one or more informationhandling systems, where appropriate.

This disclosure contemplates any suitable number of information handlingsystems 100. This disclosure contemplates information handling system100 taking any suitable physical form. As example and not by way oflimitation, information handling system 100 may be an embeddedinformation handling system, a system-on-chip (SOC), a single-boardinformation handling system (SBC) (such as, for example, acomputer-on-module (COM) or system-on-module (SOM)), a desktopinformation handling system, a laptop or notebook information handlingsystem, an interactive kiosk, a mainframe, a mesh of informationhandling systems, a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a server, a tablet information handling system, or a combinationof two or more of these. Where appropriate, information handling system100 may include one or more information handling systems 100; be unitaryor distributed; span multiple locations; span multiple machines; spanmultiple data centers; or reside in a cloud, which may include one ormore cloud components in one or more networks. Where appropriate, one ormore information handling systems 100 may perform without substantialspatial or temporal limitation one or more steps of one or more methodsdescribed or illustrated herein. As an example and not by way oflimitation, one or more information handling systems 100 may perform inreal time or in batch mode one or more steps of one or more methodsdescribed or illustrated herein. One or more information handlingsystems 100 may perform at different times or at different locations oneor more steps of one or more methods described or illustrated herein,where appropriate.

In particular embodiments, information handling system 100 includes aprocessor 102, memory 104, storage 106, an input/output (I/O) interface108, a communication interface 110, and a bus 112. Although thisdisclosure describes and illustrates a particular information handlingsystem having a particular number of particular components in aparticular arrangement, this disclosure contemplates any suitableinformation handling system having any suitable number of any suitablecomponents in any suitable arrangement.

In particular embodiments, processor 102 includes hardware for executinginstructions, such as those making up a computer program. As an exampleand not by way of limitation, to execute instructions, processor 102 mayretrieve (or fetch) the instructions from an internal register, aninternal cache, memory 104, or storage 106; decode and execute them; andthen write one or more results to an internal register, an internalcache, memory 104, or storage 106. In particular embodiments, processor102 may include one or more internal caches for data, instructions, oraddresses. This disclosure contemplates processor 102 including anysuitable number of any suitable internal caches, where appropriate. Asan example and not by way of limitation, processor 102 may include oneor more instruction caches, one or more data caches, and one or moretranslation lookaside buffers (TLBs). Instructions in the instructioncaches may be copies of instructions in memory 104 or storage 106, andthe instruction caches may speed up retrieval of those instructions byprocessor 102. Data in the data caches may be copies of data in memory104 or storage 106 for instructions executing at processor 102 tooperate on; the results of previous instructions executed at processor102 for access by subsequent instructions executing at processor 102 orfor writing to memory 104 or storage 106; or other suitable data. Thedata caches may speed up read or write operations by processor 102. TheTLBs may speed up virtual-address translation for processor 102. Inparticular embodiments, processor 102 may include one or more internalregisters for data, instructions, or addresses. This disclosurecontemplates processor 102 including any suitable number of any suitableinternal registers, where appropriate. Where appropriate, processor 102may include one or more arithmetic logic units (ALUs); be a multi-coreprocessor; or include one or more processors 102. Although thisdisclosure describes and illustrates a particular processor, thisdisclosure contemplates any suitable processor.

In particular embodiments, memory 104 includes main memory for storinginstructions for processor 102 to execute or data for processor 102 tooperate on. As an example and not by way of limitation, informationhandling system 100 may load instructions from storage 106 or anothersource (such as, for example, another information handling system 100)to memory 104. Processor 102 may then load the instructions from memory104 to an internal register or internal cache. To execute theinstructions, processor 102 may retrieve the instructions from theinternal register or internal cache and decode them. During or afterexecution of the instructions, processor 102 may write one or moreresults (which may be intermediate or final results) to the internalregister or internal cache. Processor 102 may then write one or more ofthose results to memory 104. In particular embodiments, processor 102executes only instructions in one or more internal registers or internalcaches or in memory 104 (as opposed to storage 106 or elsewhere) andoperates only on data in one or more internal registers or internalcaches or in memory 104 (as opposed to storage 106 or elsewhere). One ormore memory buses (which may each include an address bus and a data bus)may couple processor 102 to memory 104. Bus 112 may include one or morememory buses, as described below. In particular embodiments, one or morememory management units (MMUs) reside between processor 102 and memory104 and facilitate accesses to memory 104 requested by processor 102. Inparticular embodiments, memory 104 includes random access memory (RAM).This RAM may be volatile memory, where appropriate. Where appropriate,this RAM may be dynamic RAM (DRAM) or static RAM (SRAM). Moreover, whereappropriate, this RAM may be single-ported or multi-ported RAM. Thisdisclosure contemplates any suitable RAM. Memory 104 may include one ormore memories 104, where appropriate. Although this disclosure describesand illustrates particular memory, this disclosure contemplates anysuitable memory.

In particular embodiments, storage 106 includes mass storage for data orinstructions. As an example and not by way of limitation, storage 106may include a hard disk drive (HDD), a floppy disk drive, flash memory,an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, magnetic tape, or a USB driveor a combination of two or more of these. Storage 106 may includeremovable or non-removable (or fixed) media, where appropriate. Storage106 may be internal or external to information handling system 100,where appropriate. In particular embodiments, storage 106 isnon-volatile, solid-state memory. In particular embodiments, storage 106includes read-only memory (ROM). Where appropriate, this ROM may bemask-programmed ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM),electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), electrically alterable ROM (EAROM),or flash memory or a combination of two or more of these. Thisdisclosure contemplates mass storage 106 taking any suitable physicalform. Storage 106 may include one or more storage control unitsfacilitating communication between processor 102 and storage 106, whereappropriate. Where appropriate, storage 106 may include one or morestorages 106. Although this disclosure describes and illustratesparticular storage, this disclosure contemplates any suitable storage.

In particular embodiments, I/O interface 108 includes hardware,software, or both, providing one or more interfaces for communicationbetween information handling system 100 and one or more I/O devices.Information handling system 100 may include one or more of these I/Odevices, where appropriate. One or more of these I/O devices may enablecommunication between a person and information handling system 100. Asan example and not by way of limitation, an I/O device may include akeyboard, keypad, microphone, monitor, mouse, printer, scanner, speaker,still camera, stylus, tablet, touch screen, trackball, video camera,another suitable I/O device or a combination of two or more of these. AnI/O device may include one or more sensors. This disclosure contemplatesany suitable I/O devices and any suitable I/O interfaces 108 for them.Where appropriate, I/O interface 108 may include one or more device orsoftware drivers enabling processor 102 to drive one or more of theseI/O devices. I/O interface 108 may include one or more I/O interfaces108, where appropriate. Although this disclosure describes andillustrates a particular I/O interface, this disclosure contemplates anysuitable I/O interface.

In particular embodiments, communication interface 110 includeshardware, software, or both providing one or more interfaces forcommunication (such as, for example, packet-based communication) betweeninformation handling system 100 and one or more other informationhandling systems 100 or one or more networks. As an example and not byway of limitation, communication interface 110 may include a networkinterface controller (NIC) or network adapter for communicating with anEthernet or other wire-based network or a wireless NIC (WNIC) orwireless adapter for communicating with a wireless network, such as aWI-FI network. This disclosure contemplates any suitable network and anysuitable communication interface 110 for it. As an example and not byway of limitation, information handling system 100 may communicate withan ad hoc network, a personal area network (PAN), a local area network(LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), orone or more portions of the Internet or a combination of two or more ofthese. One or more portions of one or more of these networks may bewired or wireless. As an example, information handling system 100 maycommunicate with a wireless PAN (WPAN) (such as, for example, aBLUETOOTH WPAN), a WI-FI network, a WI-MAX network, a cellular telephonenetwork (such as, for example, a Global System for Mobile Communications(GSM) network), or other suitable wireless network or a combination oftwo or more of these. Information handling system 100 may include anysuitable communication interface 110 for any of these networks, whereappropriate. Communication interface 110 may include one or morecommunication interfaces 110, where appropriate. Although thisdisclosure describes and illustrates a particular communicationinterface, this disclosure contemplates any suitable communicationinterface.

In particular embodiments, bus 112 includes hardware, software, or bothcoupling components of information handling system 100 to each other. Asan example and not by way of limitation, bus 112 may include anAccelerated Graphics Port (AGP) or other graphics bus, an EnhancedIndustry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, a front-side bus (FSB), aHYPERTRANSPORT (HT) interconnect, an Industry Standard Architecture(ISA) bus, an INFINIBAND interconnect, a low-pin-count (LPC) bus, amemory bus, a Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, a PeripheralComponent Interconnect (PCI) bus, a PCI-Express (PCIe) bus, a serialadvanced technology attachment (SATA) bus, a Video Electronics StandardsAssociation local (VLB) bus, or another suitable bus or a combination oftwo or more of these. Bus 112 may include one or more buses 112, whereappropriate. Although this disclosure describes and illustrates aparticular bus, this disclosure contemplates any suitable bus orinterconnect.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example configuration of networked informationhandling systems (e.g. client devices and servers). In particularembodiments, one or more client devices 220 and one or more servers 240are connected via network 210. Network 210 may be a public network or aprivate (e.g. corporate) network. Additionally, network 210 may, forexample, be a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), awireless network, the Internet, an intranet or any other suitable typeof network. In particular embodiments, network 210 may include one ormore routers for routing data between client devices 220 and/or servers240. A device (e.g., a client device 220 or a server 240) on network 210may be addressed by a corresponding network address including, forexample, an Internet protocol (IP) address, an Internet name, a WindowsInternet name service (WINS) name, a domain name or other system name.In particular embodiments, network 210 may include one or more logicalgroupings of network devices such as, for example, one or more sites(e.g. customer sites) or subnets. As an example, a corporate network mayinclude potentially thousands of offices or branches, each with its ownsubnet (or multiple subnets) having many devices. One or more clientdevices 220 may communicate with one or more servers 240 via anysuitable connection including, for example, a modem connection, a LANconnection including the Ethernet or a broadband WAN connectionincluding DSL, Cable, Ti, T3, Fiber Optics, Wi-Fi, or a mobile networkconnection including GSM, GPRS, 3G, or WiMax.

Client device 220 may be a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a tabletcomputer, a handheld device, a mobile phone, a kiosk, a vending machine,a billboard, or any suitable information handling system. In particularembodiments, a client device 220 is an embedded computer and may haveflash memory (e.g. a solid state drive) instead of a hard disk drive. Inparticular embodiments, a client device 220 is a thin client havinglimited processing capabilities and limited storage, and such a thinclient may require minimal management and updates. A client device 220may communicate with a server 240 via one or more protocols such asHypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure(HTTPS), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Common Internet File System(CIFS), Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) protocol (developed byCitrix Systems, Inc.), Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) (developed byMicrosoft Corporation), or any suitable protocol or combination ofprotocols.

A server 240 may include one or more of: a computing device, a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, a database, a corporate server, arepository server, a configuration application server, a domain namesystem (DNS) server, a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP)server, a virtual machine (e.g., VMware® Virtual Machine), a desktopsession (e.g., Microsoft Terminal Server), a published application(e.g., Microsoft Terminal Server), or any suitable information handlingsystem. As an example, a private (e.g. corporate) network may include adevice manager server and a repository server each configured tocommunicate with multiple client devices 220 across one or more domains,sites, or subnets of network 210. In particular embodiments, a server240 may include one or more servers, or functions of one or moreservers. A client device 220 may access software resources provided by aserver 240 such as, for example, operating systems, add-ons, content, orany other suitable data, applications, or images. In particularembodiments, a client 220 may access resources provided by a server 240only after providing suitable authentication information. Alternatively,a server 240 may provide software or other resources automatically toone or more client devices 220.

A system and method for providing layered resources to an informationhandling system is disclosed herein. A layer is a container orcollection of data or resources. The data or resources may compriseexecutable code, such as an operating system or user application. Thedata or resources may comprise configuration data for an informationhandling system, such as registry settings in a Microsoft Windowsenvironment, or other data structures used to store configurationsettings, such as text files, XML files, and the like. The data orresources may comprise files in any format, including but not limitedto, text files, HTML files, or proprietary files such as Microsoft Word“.DOC” or “.DOCX” files or Microsoft Excel “.XLS” spreadsheets.

FIG. 3 illustrates a particular embodiment of a layer 310. In thisembodiment, layer 310 contains one more or more files or resources401A-401N associated with an application, such as Microsoft Word,Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Adobe Acrobat, or the FireFox webbrowser. The files or resources 401A-N may comprise executable code,non-executable data (e.g., images, help files, templates, et cetera), ora combination of executable and non-executable data. The layer may alsocontain configuration information necessary for the application to runon the information handling system. For example, for an applicationexecutable by a Microsoft Windows operating system, the application mayrequire one or more registry settings. Therefore, the layer may storethe registry keys and values associated with the application. Theregistry keys and values may be stored as metadata. In particularembodiments, the registry keys and values may be stored in a registryhive in the layer.

In particular embodiments, the layer comprises an operating systemimage, and files 401A-401N comprise the executable and non-executablefiles associated with a particular operating system. For example, thefiles may comprise the bootloader, the kernel, hardware drivers,software drivers, and other files associated with the operating system.The layer may also contain configuration information necessary for theoperating system, such as environment settings and network configurationsettings.

In particular embodiments, a layer may contain data or resources formore than one application or operating system. For example, anorganization may create an “Accounting Department” layer that containsall the files, resources, or configuration settings necessary forapplications deployed to users in the organization's accountingdepartment. Continuing with this example, the accounting departmentlayer may contain an image of Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, and otherapplications typically deployed to users in the accounting department,all in a single layer. In particular embodiments, the layer may alsocontain files, resources, or configuration settings for one or moreoperating systems.

A layer may also contain metadata that describes the contents of thelayer. Any suitable data structure, such as an XML file, a hash table, atree data structure, an array, a linked list, or a Microsoft registryhive, may be used to store the metadata. The layer may contain one ormore data structures to store the metadata. Referring to the particularembodiment depicted in FIG. 3, layer 310 comprises file metadata 402 andconfiguration metadata 404. File metadata 402 may comprise one or moredata structures identifying the files 401A-401N stored in layer 310,identify one or more logical blocks associated with the files, oridentify one or more logical-to-physical mappings of the files.Configuration metadata 404 may store configuration settings associatedwith the layer, or identify where configuration settings associated withthe layer are stored. In particular embodiments, registry key and valuepairs are stored in configuration metadata 404. In particularembodiments, the configuration metadata is stored in a Microsoftregistry hive.

No particular storage medium is required for storing a layer and theassociated data or resources. By way of example and not by way oflimitation, layer 310 may be stored on a hard disk drive (e.g., apartition the hard disk drive), a virtual disk, a RAM disk, a USBstorage device, a Flash storage device, a DVD (digital versatile disc),or any other suitable storage medium. The storage medium may be local tothe information handling system. In particular embodiments, the storagemedium may be remote from the information handling system. For example,the storage medium may comprise a network file share (e.g., an NetworkFile System share, an NTFS/SMB file share), a block-based network share(e.g., storage area network using FibreChannel or iSCSI), or a cloudstorage service. In a particular embodiment, a layer may be stored on astreaming virtual disk (vDisk). By way of example and not by way oflimitation, an implementation of a streaming vDisk is available fromDell Inc. In particular embodiments, a layer may comprise a folder ordirectory on a storage medium where the data and resources associatedwith the layer are stored. For example, a layer may comprise a partitionof a streaming Virtual Disk (vDisk) where all of the data and resourcesassociated with the layer are stored.

In particular embodiments, a layer may be stored remotely from theinformation handling system. If the information handling systemmaintains connectivity to the remote storage medium, the layer mayremain remotely stored from the information handling system. Inparticular embodiments, the layer (or portions of the layer) may becached or staged to a storage medium local to the information handlingsystem. For example, caching or staging a layer locally may permitincreased performance during runtime or permit offline usage of thelayer. The layering system and method disclosed herein does not requirethat the one or more layers provided to the information handling systembe stored on a single type of storage medium or at a single location. Byway of example and not by way of limitation, an information handlingsystem may be provided with access to a first layer that is stored on alocal storage medium, and a second layer that is stored on a remotestorage medium.

In particular embodiments, the layering system comprises a layeringclient, a layering file-system filter driver (LFFD), and a layeringregistry filter driver (LRFD) provided for the information handlingsystem.

In particular embodiments, the layering client is responsible formanaging the mounting of layers. The layering client may determine whichlayers are to be mounted based upon the identity of the user, a roleassociated with the user, an identifier of the information handlingsystem, a geographic location, or any other criteria that may berelevant to provisioning software to an information handling system.Layers may be mounted at boot time (such as when a layer is used toprovide the operating system), during a log-on process, or dynamically(such as when a user clicks an icon associated with a layer resource).In particular embodiments, a layer is mounted as a file system and isassigned an available drive letter. The drive may be hidden from theuser to prevent a user from directly accessing or modifying the contentsof the layer. When more than one layer is mounted, the layering clientmay assign a priority or ordering to the mounted layers. The assignedpriority or ordering may be used to resolve conflicts between layers,such as when more than one mounted layer contains a similarly namedresource.

In particular embodiments, the criteria or rules to mount a layer aredecoupled from the client device where layers are actually mounted. Forexample, the layering client may send an identifier associated with thecurrent user and an identifier associated with the client device to amanagement server. The management server is responsible for applying thecriteria or rules to determine which layers the client device shouldmount. The rules or criteria may comprise any combination of user name,a group associated with the user, time of the day, type of device(laptop/PC/Tablet), or any other suitable criteria.

In particular embodiments, the layering client may configure the otherlayering drivers provided for the information handling system. Forexample, the layering client may notify the layering drivers when alayer has been mounted or dismounted. The layering client may also beused to alter the operating state of the layering drivers. For example,the layering drivers may have multiple operating states, such as a“normal” or “runtime” state, and an “install” or “create layer” state.

In particular embodiments, a method of creating a layer is disclosedherein. The layering client may receive a notification to create alayer. The notification may be received from a user interface providedon the information handling system or may be received from a remoteinformation handling system. The layering client may determine a targetstorage location on a suitable storage medium from the notification, orby prompting a selection by a user of the information handling system.The layering client may re-format the target storage location ifappropriate. The layering client may create a file metadata, aconfiguration metadata, or both on the target storage location. If anyother layers are mounted, the layering client may dismount the otherlayers. The layering client mounts the target storage location as alayer. The layering configures the LFFD and the LRFD, if an LRFD ispresent, to operate in an “install” or “create layer” state. While inthe “install” state, a user may install applications using standardapplication installer technology, and the installed applications will becreated on the newly created layer. Once all applications have beeninstalled, the layering client may receive a notification thatinstallation is complete and that the layering system should be put backinto a “normal” or “runtime” state. At this point, the layering clientmay dismount the newly created layer. The layering client configures theLFFD and the LRFD, if an LRFD is present, to operate in a “normal” or“runtime” state.

In particular embodiments, the layering file system filter driver (LFFD)may be loaded onto a file system stack of the information handlingsystem's operating system. The LFFD may register with the OS to receivenotifications for all file operations (e.g. create, open, close, read,write, rename, delete, directory enumeration, etc.). The LFFD isoperable to allow a file operation to pass-through to the file system,or the LFFD may modify a file operation. By way of example and not byway of limitation, the LFFD may modify a file operation by blocking theoperation, replicating the operation, redirecting the operation, orperforming one of the operations described herein.

In the normal or runtime state, the LFFD examines each file operationand determines whether the file operation must be redirected or modifiedto make use of a file contained in a mounted layer. This determinationmay be made by performing a path lookup against metadata describing thefiles contained in the mounted layers. For example, the LFFD may loadthe file metadata for a layer when it is mounted, and then use the filemetadata to perform a path lookup.

In particular embodiments, a method for handling a file open operationby the LFFD is disclosed. The LFFD receives a notification of a fileopen operation, and identifies the target file from the notification.Next, the LFFD may perform a path lookup against the file metadata of afirst mounted layer. If there is no match, the LFFD may move to the nextmounted layer and perform a path lookup against the file metadata of thenext mounted layer recursively until there are no other mounted layersor a match is found. If there are no other mounted layers, the LFFD willallow the file open operation to be handled by the file system. When apath lookup results in a match, the LFFD looks for a file described byfile metadata. If the file is found in the mounted layer, the LFFDmodifies the file open operation by redirecting the target of the fileopen operation to point to the file found in the mounted layer. If nofile is found in the mounted layer, the LFFD proceeds to perform a pathlookup against the next mounted layer and so on. The order in which theLFFD checks the file metadata of each mounted layer may be determined bya priority or ordering assigned to the layers.

For example, assume a layer is mounted as drive E:, and the layercontains a file “Foo.txt” that is associated with the path “\ProgramFiles\App\”. If the LFFD receives a notification for a file openoperation that specifies a target of “C:\Program Files\App\Foo.txt”, theLFFD will perform a path lookup against the file metadata for allmounted layers. In this example, the LFFD will match the path “\ProgramFiles\App\”, and determine that the file operation may be associatedwith the layer mounted at E:. Next, the LFFD will check to see if thereis a file “Foo.txt” in the mounted layer. In this example, the LFFD willlocate the file “Foo.txt”. Having made the determination that the fileoperation targets a file associated with a mounted layer, the LFFD willredirect the file open operation such that the file located at“E:\Program Files\App\Foo.txt” is opened instead of a file located atthe same path on the C: drive, even if such a file existed. If the LFFDmatches the path to a mounted layer, but the LFFD does not locate thedescribed file within the layer, then the LFFD will allow the fileoperation to pass to the file system of the operating system for normalhandling.

In particular embodiments, a method for handling a file directoryenumeration operation by the LFFD is disclosed. The LFFD receives anotification of a file directory enumeration operation, and identifiesthe target file directory. For each mounted layer, the LFFD creates afile directory enumeration operation that targets the mounted layer. Theresults returned by the file directory enumeration operation for eachmounted layer are merged together with the result of a file directoryenumeration operation that is allowed to pass-through to the filesystem. Before returning the results, the LFFD will filter out duplicatefiles such that only the file associated with the highest priority layeris returned.

For example, assume there is a first layer mounted at E:, a second layermounted at F:, and a third layer mounted at G:. When the LFFD receives anotification of a file directory enumeration operation targeting“C:\Program Files\App\”, the LFFD will send file directory enumerationoperations targeting “E:\Program Files\App\”, “F:\Program Files\App\”,and “G:\Program Files\App\”. The results of these operations are mergedwith the result of a file directory enumeration operation that ispassed-through to the file system targeting “C:\Program Files\App\”. Tothe user or an application, the results appear to only come from asingle directory while the results were generated by combining the filesin four different file directories. If there are two or more files withthe same name across the four different file directories, the LFFD willfilter out the duplicate file names according to the priority orordering assigned to the layers.

In particular embodiments, a method for handling a file directoryenumeration operation by the LFFD using a file directory query hook isdisclosed. The LFFD makes use of a directory query hook provided by filesystem instead of creating separate file directory enumerationoperations that target each mounted layer. First, the LFFD receives afile directory enumeration operation. The LFFD identifies the highestpriority layer, redirects the file directory enumeration operation tothe highest priority layer, sets a flag that indicates that more resultswill be available, and records in metadata the next layer to be queried.When the query is returned from the highest priority layer, theinitiating process receives the results, and the set flag triggers theinitiating process to resubmit the file directory enumeration operation.The LFFD recognizes that the file directory enumeration operation is acontinuation of a prior request, checks the metadata to identify thenext layer to be queried, redirects the operation to the next layer,sets the flag indicating that more results are available, and updatesthe metadata to identify the next layer to be queried. The processcontinues until there are no more layers to check, in which case, theoperation is passed-through to the file system. During this process, theLFFD tracks the results returned by each operation, and filtersduplicate files from subsequent queries to prevent multiple files withthe same name appearing in the directory view.

In particular embodiments, it may be unnecessary for the LFFD to modifythe behavior of other file operations if the remaining types of fileoperations make use of a file handle. For example, if a file openoperation must be performed before a read file operation, a write fileoperation, or a close file operation, no modification to these fileoperations are necessary so long as the file operations make use of afile handle returned from a file open operation. If the target file isassociated with a file in a layer, then the file handle returned by thefile open operation will have been redirected to the layer resource bythe LFFD. Continuing the previous example, when a file open operationtargeting “C:\Program Files\App\Foo.txt” is handled by the LFFD, theLFFD returns a file handle that points to the “Foo.txt” file at itslocation in the layer mounted at the E: drive. Any subsequent fileoperations using the file handle will make use of the file located inthe layer automatically.

In particular embodiments, the LFFD may perform the path lookupsdescribed herein using cached metadata. In a particular embodiment, themetadata cache is created by loading metadata stored in a layer when thelayer is first mounted. The cached metadata can be stored as a hashtable where paths are used as the hash key or as in-memory search tree.

In another particular embodiment, the metadata cache is implementedusing Microsoft Windows registry hives. In this embodiment, the filemetadata for each layer is stored in a registry hive in each layer. Whenthe layer is mounted, the LFFD locates the registry hive containing thefile metadata for the layer, and loads the registry hive into theregistry. The LFFD performs path lookups by querying each layer'sregistry hive loaded into the registry. When a the layer is dismounted,the LFFD unloads the registry hive from the registry.

In particular embodiments, a method for handling a file create operationby the LFFD operating in an “install” or “create layer” mode isdisclosed. The LFFD receives a notification of a file create operation,and determines the target path. The LFFD redirects the file createoperation to a destination location on the storage medium for themounted layer that is in an “install” state. The LFFD may update thefile metadata associated with the mounted layer to include informationconcerning the target path and the destination location to facilitate apath lookup. The LFFD may return a file handle pointing to thedestination location to the calling process.

For example, assume that the layer in an “install” state is mounted asE:. While the layering system is in install mode, the user runs aninstaller package for an application. The installer package attempts tocreate a file at the target path “C:\Program Files\App\Foo.txt”. TheLFFD receives a notification of the file create operation, and redirectsthe file create operation to the destination path “E:\ProgramFiles\App\Foo.txt”. The LFFD may update the file metadata to associatethe target path “\Program Files\App\Foo.txt” with the destination pathwithin the layer “\Program Files\App\Foo.txt”. At the completion of thefile create operation, the installer package receives a file handle thatpoints to the file stored at “E:\Program Files\App\Foo.txt”.

In particular embodiments, a method for handling a file modify operationby the LFFD operating in an “install” or “create layer” mode isdisclosed. The LFFD receives a notification of a file modificationoperation, and determines the target path. The LFFD redirects the filecreate operation to a destination location on the storage medium for themounted layer that is in an “install” state. If the fie does not existon the storage medium for the mounted layer, the file may be copied fromthe target path to the mounted layer, and then apply the modification.The LFFD may update the file metadata associated with the mounted layerto include information concerning the target path and the destinationlocation to facilitate a path lookup. The LFFD may return a file handlepointing to the destination location to the calling process.

If the information handling system is running an operating system thatuses a registry for storing configuration settings (for example, aMicrosoft Windows operating system), then a layering registry filterdriver (LRFD) may be provided. The LRFD may register with the OS toreceive a notification for all registry operations (e.g. create key, getkey value, delete key, delete key value, enumerate keys, etc.). Thelayering registry filter driver can allow a registry operation topass-through to the OS's registry, or block, replicate or redirect theregistry operation to target configuration metadata in a mounted layer.In the normal or runtime state, the LRFD examines each registryoperation and determines whether the registry operation must beredirected or modified to make use of a registry key or value associatedwith a mounted layer. This determination may be made by performing alookup against the configuration metadata stored in the mounted layers.

In particular embodiments, a method for handling a registry modificationor retrieval operation by the LRFD is disclosed. The LRFD receives anotification of a registry modification or retrieval operation (e.g.,get registry key value or set registry key value), and identifies thetarget key from the notification. Next, the LRFD queries theconfiguration metadata for each mounted layer in the order of priorityassigned to the mounted layers. When the first match is found, the LRFDredirects the registry operation to the configuration metadata in themounted layer associated with the first match, and returns the result tothe calling process. If there is no match, the LRFD allows the registryoperation to pass-through to the registry for normal handling.

For example, assume there is a first layer mounted at E:, a second layermounted at F:, and a third layer mounted at G:. Also assume that thesecond layer's configuration metadata contains a key and valueassociated with the registry path“HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Vendor\Key1”, and assume that the registryalso contains a key and value at the same path. When the LRFD receives anotification of a registry get key value operation targeting“HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Vendor\Key1”, the LRFD will queryconfiguration metadata for the first mounted layer and not find a match,the LRFD will query configuration metadata for the second mounted layerand find a match. At this point, the LRFD will redirect the registryoperation to the configuration metadata of the second layer, and thecalling process will receive the value stored in the configurationmetadata of the second layer. Continuing with this example, assume thatthe registry path does not exist in the second mounted layer. With thismodification, the LRFD would query the configuration data of all threemounted layers, and not find a match. At this point, the LRFD wouldallow the registry operation to be handled by the registry.

In particular embodiments, a method for handling a registry enumerationoperation by the LRFD is disclosed. The LRFD receives a notification ofa registry enumeration operation, and identifies the target registrypath from the notification. Next, the LRFD queries the configurationmetadata for each mounted layer in the order of priority assigned to themounted layers. For each queried configuration metadata, the LRFDgathers and merges all of the registry keys and values associated withthe target path. If there are registry keys that are the same in morethan one configuration metadata or the registry, the LRFD filters outthe registry keys and values associated with the lower priority layersand the registry. The combined results are returned to the callingprocess.

In particular embodiments, a registry operation that requires thecreation of new keys or trees while the LRFD is in a “normal” or“runtime” state is allowed to pass-through to the registry. Althoughthis disclosure describes particular embodiments of methods for handlingregistry operations by the LRFD, the disclosure contemplates otherembodiments of methods for handling registry operations by the LRFD.

In particular embodiments, a method for handling a registry key createoperation by the LRFD operating in an “install” or “create layer” stateis disclosed. The LRFD receives a notification of a registry createoperation (e.g., create registry key), and identifies the target keyfrom the notification. Next, the LRFD redirects the registry operationto the configuration metadata in the mounted layer that is in an“install” state.

In particular embodiments, the configuration metadata is registry hivestored in the layer. In such an embodiment, redirecting the registryoperation comprises redirecting the registry operation from the registryto the registry hive stored in the layer.

For example, assume that the layering system is in an “install” or“create layer” state. While an application installer executes, theinstaller package attempts to create a new key at target registry path“HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Vendor\Key1” and value “Value1”. The LRFDreceives a notification of the registry create key operation, andredirects the registry create key operation to the destination path“HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Vendor\Key” in the registry hive stored inthe layer that is mounted in the “install” state. The installerapplication receives a notification that the registry operation wassuccessful, even though the new key and value were stored in a registryhive stored in the mounted layer as opposed to the registry.

In particular embodiments, a method for handling a registry keymodification operation by the LRFD operating in an “install” or “createlayer” state is disclosed. The LRFD receives a notification of aregistry key or value modification operation (e.g., set key value), andidentifies the target key from the notification. Next, the LRFDredirects the registry modification operation to the configurationmetadata in the mounted layer that is in an “install” state. If thetarget key or entry does not already exist in the configuration metadata(e.g. the registry key being modified was previously created in theregistry), the target key will be created in the configuration metadataand the modification applied. The calling process or applicationreceives a notification that the registry operation was successful, eventhough the modification was not applied to the registry.

For example, assume that there is a pre-existing registry key in theregistry at the registry path “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Vendor\Key1”that has a value “Value1”. After the layering system switches to an“install” or “create layer” state, an application attempts to change thedata of the value associated with a key. The LRFD will receive anotification of the registry modification operation, and will redirectthe change to the configuration metadata stored in the layer mounted inthe “install” or “create layer” state. If the key does not already existin the layer, the key is created and the data associated with the valueis set to “Value2”. If the key already exists in the layer, the dataassociated with the value is changed to “Value2”. The data of the valueassociated with the key in the registry is left unmodified as “Value1”.The calling process is notified that the operation was successful eventhough the registry was not modified.

In particular embodiments, the operating system of the informationhandling system does not provide or use a registry for configurationdata. In such embodiments, the layering system comprises a layeringclient and a layering file-system filter driver (LFFD) provided for theinformation handling system.

Herein, “or” is inclusive and not exclusive, unless expressly indicatedotherwise or indicated otherwise by context. Therefore, herein, “A or B”means “A, B, or both,” unless expressly indicated otherwise or indicatedotherwise by context. Moreover, “and” is both joint and several, unlessexpressly indicated otherwise or indicated otherwise by context.Therefore, herein, “A and B” means “A and B, jointly or severally,”unless expressly indicated otherwise or indicated otherwise by context.

The scope of this disclosure encompasses all changes, substitutions,variations, alterations, and modifications to the example embodimentsdescribed or illustrated herein that a person having ordinary skill inthe art would comprehend. The scope of this disclosure is not limited tothe example embodiments described or illustrated herein. Moreover,although this disclosure describes and illustrates respectiveembodiments herein as including particular components, elements,feature, functions, operations, or steps, any of these embodiments mayinclude any combination or permutation of any of the components,elements, features, functions, operations, or steps described orillustrated anywhere herein that a person having ordinary skill in theart would comprehend. Furthermore, reference in the appended claims toan apparatus or system or a component of an apparatus or system beingadapted to, arranged to, capable of, configured to, enabled to, operableto, or operative to perform a particular function encompasses thatapparatus, system, component, whether or not it or that particularfunction is activated, turned on, or unlocked, as long as thatapparatus, system, or component is so adapted, arranged, capable,configured, enabled, operable, or operative.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of creating a new layer for aninformation handling system comprising: by a layering client: mountingthe new layer at a layer storage medium accessible to the informationhandling system; by a layering file-system filter driver: redirecting arequest to create a file at a target file path to a redirected file pathon the layer storage medium; and updating a file metadata on the layerstorage medium to associate the target file path with the redirectedfile path.
 2. The method of creating a new layer of claim 1, wherein thelayer storage medium is local to the information handling system.
 3. Themethod of creating a new layer of claim 1, wherein the layer storagemedium is remote to the information handling system.
 4. The method ofcreating a new layer of claim 3, wherein the layer storage medium is astreaming virtual disk.
 5. The method of creating a new layer of claim 1comprising: by a layering configuration filter driver: redirecting arequest to create or modify a configuration entry at a systemconfiguration path to a redirected configuration path in a layerconfiguration metadata stored on the layer storage medium.
 6. The methodof creating a new layer of claim 5, wherein the layer configurationmetadata comprises an XML file, a hash table, a tree data structure, anarray, or a database.
 7. The method of creating a new layer of claim 5,wherein the layer configuration metadata comprises a Microsoft Windowsregistry hive.
 8. One or more computer-readable non-transitory storagemedia embodying logic that is operable when executed to: by a layeringclient: mount a new layer at a layer storage medium accessible to aninformation handling system; by a layering file-system filter driver:redirect a request to create a file at a target file path to aredirected file path on the layer storage medium; and update a filemetadata on the layer storage medium to associate the target file pathwith the redirected file path.
 9. The one or more computer-readablenon-transitory storage media of claim 8, wherein the layer storagemedium is local to the information handling system.
 10. The one or morecomputer-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 8, wherein thelayer storage medium is remote to the information handling system. 11.The one or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media of claim9, wherein the layer storage medium is a streaming virtual disk.
 12. Theone or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 9that is operable when executed to: by a layering configuration filterdriver: redirect a request to create or modify a configuration entry ata system configuration path to a redirected configuration path in alayer configuration metadata stored on the layer storage medium.
 13. Theone or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 12,wherein the layer configuration metadata comprises an XML file, a hashtable, a tree data structure, an array, or a database.
 14. The one ormore computer-readable non-transitory storage media of claim 12, whereinthe layer configuration metadata comprises a Microsoft Windows registryhive.
 15. An information handling system comprising: one or moreprocessors; and a memory coupled to the processors comprisinginstructions executable by the processors, the processors being operablewhen executing the instructions to: by a layering client: mount a newlayer at a layer storage medium accessible to the information handlingsystem; by a layering file-system filter driver: redirect a request tocreate a file at a target file path to a redirected file path on thelayer storage medium; and update a file metadata on the layer storagemedium to associate the target file path with the redirected file path.16. The information handling system of claim 15, wherein the layerstorage medium is remote to the information handling system.
 17. Theinformation handling system of claim 15, wherein the layer storagemedium is a streaming virtual disk.
 18. The information handling systemof claim 15, wherein the memory coupled to the processors comprisinginstructions executable by the processors, the processors being operablewhen executing the instructions to: by a layering configuration filterdriver: redirect a request to create or modify a registry entry at asystem configuration path to a redirected configuration path in a layerconfiguration metadata stored on the layer storage medium.
 19. Theinformation handling system of 18, wherein the layer configurationmetadata comprises an XML file, a hash table, a tree data structure, anarray, or a database.
 20. The information handling system of claim 18,wherein the layer configuration metadata comprises a Microsoft Windowsregistry hive.